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Fourth Straight New England Championship For PA Girls Swimming and Diving
The Swimmin’ Women...a.k.a. The Monstas!...capped a strong season with an outstanding showing at the New England Prep School Swimming and Diving Championships held at Phillips Exeter Academy on Sunday, March 6. Based on seed times, the Lady Blue trailed favored Hopkins by more than 40 points going into the day's action, and projected to be a mere 10 points ahead of Exeter. By night’s end, Andover accumulated 324 points to Hopkins’ 261.5, Loomis’ 248 and Exeter’s 223.5.
After a strong morning that saw the Andover team finish ahead of their seeded slots in numerous races--in fact, the team moved up a combined total of 40 places above their seeds--the girls entered the nighttime finals far ahead of projections. An unexpected first place finish for the 200 Medley Relay team of Alex Doty ’05, Liz Demers ’05, Emily Brenner ’06 and Alyssa Hill ’06 launched the team on it’s championship quest! The remainder of the night saw first place finishes for Hee-Jin Chang ’05 in the 200 and 100 free, Doty in the 100 Fly (personal best and new school record), the 200 Free Relay team of Hill, Brenner, Erika Roddy ’07 and Chang (also a new school record), and the 400 Free Relay team of Roddy, Katie Faulkner ’06, Doty and Chang (new pool record). Other top 16 places were posted by Faulkner and Carly Villareal ’07 in the 200 Free; Janet Scognamiglio ’08 and Laura Benca ’05 in the 200 IM; Hill and Roddy in the 50 Free; Liz Finnegan ’06 and Rachel Reinauer ’07 in the Diving; Demers in the 100 Fly (personal best); Roddy, Hill and Brenner in the 100 Free; Faulkner in the 500 Free; Doty in the 100 Back; and Demers in the 100 Breast.
What was most remarkable about this year was the team spirit that was expressed throughout the day. Personal bests were celebrated as enthusiastically as first place finishes. The team created t-shirts for the day that read “monsta love” on the front and “a winner’s strongest muscle is her heart” on the back. Indeed!
The team’s 4th New England Championship in as many years was made even more special by the New England coaches' selection of Hee-Jin Chang ’05 as the Robertson Award winner for representing the spirit of New England Swimming & Diving. Chang had won this award in her ninth and tenth grade years yet was truly surprised to be honored this year. She is the first athlete (boy or girl) in the history of the league to win this award 3 out of her 4 years. She credits the strong bond of this team and the camaraderie of the league with helping her earn this award.
Team totals:
Andover 324 points
Hopkins 261.5 pnts
Loomis 248
Phillips Exeter 223.5
Choate 168
League MVP (Robertson Award): Hee-Jin Chang '05
Phillips Academy New School Records:
200 Freestyle Relay 1:39.88
Alyssa Hill '06
Emily Brenner '06
Erika Roddy '07
Hee-Jin Chang '05
(NE record is 1:39.37)
100 Butterfly 56.93
Alex Doty '05
The girls swim team posted a 110-76 victory over Exeter on Wednesday; their third in three years. Of special note were the first/third finishes in all three relays - showing the amazing depth of this team. The day also saw stunning first place finishes for Hee-Jin Chang '05 and Alex Doty '05 in the 200 free, 100 free, 100 fly and 100 back. Alex's win in the 100 back was particularly thrilling as she swam a 1:00.50, just touching out the Exeter swimmer who finished in 1:00.92. Laura Benca '06 shaved 6 seconds off her 200 IM time to place second in the event with a time of 2:25.95 and Janet Scognamiglio '08 posted a great time in the 100 breaststroke (1:16.59). The Swimmin Women will now re-group for the New England Championships which will be held at Exeter in 10 days; a win would be the team's 4th in a row. [TIMES]
The Swimmin Women welcomed Williston Northampton today with open arms and fast times! A decisive 100-73 win was accomplished through hard work and perseverance. Of particular note were: Alex Doty's stunning win in her debut in the 200 Free with a time of 2:01.90. This *Captain Powerhouse* just keeps on making significant contributions! We also took note of Captain Liz Demers' remarkable debut win in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 1:03.54. Alyssa Hill '06, Carly Villareal '07 and Ella Kidron '08 posted their FIRST first-place finishes in a varsity meet today in the 50 Free (26.38), the 500 Free (5:40.81) and the 100 Breast (1:14.51), respectively. And, finally, we are enjoying the final swims of 4-year senior phenom, Hee-Jin Chang who posted firsts in the 200 IM (2:13.45) and 100 Free (52.77). The seniors are feeling a bit nostalgic as they head into their final meet against Exeter on Wednesday. The team as a whole is fitting well together - they will need this bond as they enter the final weeks of the season! The Quest to be the BEST is coming into the final chapters! [TIMES]
The Swimmin' Women continued their unbeaten streak with an overwhelming victory over Deerfield in Andover today. Though the Women in Green arrived in shamrock style suits, their luck ran out as the Big Blue Wave could not be stopped. First place finishes were posted in all but diving and the 500. Of particular note were Liz Demers '05 placing first in both the 200 IM and 100 Breast, Alex Doty's blue ribbon swims in the 100 Fly and 100 Back, and the personal cheering squad for senior Mary Burris '05, who was the lead swimmer in both the 200 free relay and the 400 free relay. The BestQuest continues next week at home against the perennially strong team from Hopkins. The girls will be out to avenge last year's dual meet loss to the HillToppers. [TIMES]
A planned tri-meet with NMH and Milton turned into a reduced dual meet with Milton when the Blizzard of thie Weekend hit! Many of the events were closely contested, but as the snow piled up outside, the Andover lead began to pile up inside. Highlights of the day include: a stunning win by Hee-Jin Chang '05 (off to become a Texas Longhorn next year!) in the 200 Free, two great swims by Katie Faulkner '06 and Caroline Villareal '07 in the 500 free (both swam well...Vill had almost a personal best!) and a 1-2 finish in the diving event by PA's Liz Finnegan and Rachel Reinauer. The BestQuest continues. Deerfield is the next BestGUEST on Jan 29 at Andover. [TIMES]
The Andover Swimmin Women kicked off their 2005 season today with a decisive win over the Loomis Pelicans. After a cancelled meet last week against Chotae, the girls were ready to begin their season today. Highlights included a pair of wins for Katie Faulkner '06 in the 200 Freestyle (2:17.15) (meter pool) and 500 Free (6:05.65) and a pair of wins for Alex Doty '05 in the 100 fly (1:05.01) and 100 Back (1:07.81). With her effort in the fly, Doty broke the New England Meter Record in that event. On the relay side, the team posted first place finishes in the Medley Relay (Doty, Liz Demers '05, Emily Brenner '06 and Erika Roddy '07), the 200 Free Relay (Brenner, Alyssa Hill '06, Faulkner, and Hee-Jin Chang '05) and 400 Free Relay (Faulkner, Roddy, Doty, Chang). Despite some sickness and some nagging injuries, the team looks strong once again as they embark on their BEST QUEST again this season! The #1 goal continues to be the pursuit of FUN! [TIMES]
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